The ACT Government has released its 91A Wakefield Gardens Listening Report, outlining strong community support for turning the long-disused Ainslie community site back into a community space.
The building, which was vacant for years before a fire damaged it earlier this year, will be demolished in 2026 to make the area safe while planning continues. The site has a long history of community health use, including the Canberra Mothercraft Society, a child health clinic, and Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Services. While the structure itself is not heritage-listed, the surrounding gardens are, and the government has committed to preserving them.
More than 380 people provided feedback during a six-week consultation through surveys, pop-ups, and stakeholder meetings. More than 1,600 people visited the Government’s YourSay page, and letters were sent to 2,300 residents.
Community priorities included:
• Preserving the heritage character of the site and gardens
• Creating an inclusive and affordable multi-use community space
• Improving green space and sustainability, and
• Ensuring accessibility for all ages and abilities.
Other suggestions included better play facilities and stronger recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, with calls for First Nations leadership in planning the site’s redevelopment.
The Government will assess feasible options that balance community priorities with heritage requirements, mature trees, and the site’s limited footprint.
Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA, Minister for the Public Service, said: “We heard strong support for maintaining the Wakefield Gardens site as a community space with improved green space and accessible, family-friendly facilities, alongside recognition of the site’s cultural significance.
“This feedback will help shape how the site can once again make a meaningful contribution to community life and provides strong backing for returning the site to appropriate use.”
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson welcomed the report and urged the government to back a community-led vision for the precinct.
“The ACT Government should lean into the community ambition contained in this report and breathe new life into this untapped asset as part of an integrated Wakefield Gardens precinct plan,” he said.
Mr Emerson’s detailed community submission proposes a staged redevelopment featuring a native garden with urban farming elements, a two-storey community hub, and a nature playground. He said the plan draws on months of consultation and aims to revitalise what residents describe as “a massively underutilised public asset”.
The full Listening Report is available on the ACT Government’s YourSay website.
